Timeline
by Annabelle Jade
Summary: Jade has been told that Dave has big plans for Valentine's Day this year, but will shenanigans get in the way? Is she even prepared for this?


_Alright, today is the day. I got this, so fucking got this._

Dave Strider stood in his room, preparing himself for the night to come. He had been preparing for today since last summer. At first, it was the small things like leaving cute notes under her dorm room door so she would find them later in the day. Other times he would surprise her with an unexpected outing on a Friday night after she got off work. But this was something more, today was a special day. Valentine's Day was the one day of the year where he could really impress his leading lady, Jade Harley.

His time was running out. The blond told her yesterday that he would pick her up at exactly 5:30 and it was already 5:00. There was only one thing left to do, suit up. It was a damn good thing he planned ahead of time. Last year was so fucked up, he didn't have much time to prepare. But this year was going to be different.

With his suit jacket in one hand and rose in the other, the blond placed his hand on the doorknob and walked full stride out of the apartment, ready to woo his lady.

X

"Oh god, its 5:15. I'm not ready yet and he'll be here any minute!"

"Jade, calm down. Everything will be fine. I'm sure Rose will show up any second now."

"But Jake, I'm really nervous!"

The older brunet smiled warmly, placing a hand on his little cousin's shoulder. His smile was always somewhat comforting. Still, her roommate was nowhere to be found. Jade had called and texted Rose Lalonde for the past hour without as much as a one letter response. She was really starting to freak out because now she only had fifteen minutes until Dave showed up at her doorstep.

"I'll try calling Rose again, sit tight."

She nodded as Jake pulled out his cell phone that rested in his pocket. Even though Jake had his back turned, Jade could still see he was nervous too.

Before Jake could even place the phone to his ear, the door swung open cause both of them to jump back.

"Sup guys?"

Dirk Strider, Dave's older brother came busting into her room, with a peculiar look on his face.

"Dirk, what are you doing here?"

"Well Jakey, I'm bored and thought I would drop by for a while."

The brunet turned back to his cousin who had moved to the chair next to her desk. "I'm helping Jade get ready for her date since Rose is nowhere to be seen."

The tall blond crossed his arms, annoyed. "Really? Because I just saw them coming back from the bar."

"The bar?! She ditched me to go drinking?!"

Dirk moved passed Jake in a split second to comfort Jade before the brunet had time to even put his phone away. "What seems to be bothering you?"

"Rose was supposed to help me get ready for my date with Dave but she's not here and I have no idea what to wear or how to do my makeup."

"You're in luck. Where's your makeup bag?"

"Jake has it. He was going to try and help me."

"Don't worry, I fucking got this."

She was in complete shock. Dirk Strider was about to do her makeup. Her older cousin had a strange look on his face. It was a mix of pure shock and slight terror. The older brunet shrugged and then made his way back over to the blond.

"Dirk, what are you doing?" Jake asked as his face contorted to confusion.

"I'm about to do your cousin's makeup." He paused as though he was collecting his thoughts. "Hat, off. Glasses, off." The taller male then proceed to throw his hat across the room and place his sunglasses neatly on Jade's desk. "Shirt, off."

_Wait, what?_

The blond took his right hand, lifting the shirt from his torso and threw it next to his hat in the far corner of the room.

"Um, Dirk?"

"Yes, Jade?"

"What are you doing?"

"Your makeup."

Another moment passed, complete silence filled the room. The smaller brunet didn't have the slightest clue of what to do at this point. Her boyfriend's brother was shirtless and about to do her makeup. Her thoughts wandered until a loud giggling came from down the hallway. _Who's that?_

It didn't take long for the giggling to climax right outside the door. Just as Dirk had done only a few moments ago, Roxy, Kanaya, and Rose came stumbling into the room.

"Oh he-y guys. Jade! You look graet."

_And Rose is drunk, great. I haven't even changed out of my sweatpants yet._

A heavy sigh escaped the brunet's lungs. This was about to be the worst day of her life. Dave would be here in less than ten minutes and she wasn't even changed yet.

Roxy, who had entered last, immediately placed her hands over both Rose and Kanaya's mouths. "Shhh, he's bout to go in da zone."

Dirk rolled his eyes, irritated. He then turned to Jade after digging through the makeup bag. "I've fixed Roxy's makeup enough times, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. Now, poker face, relax and close your eyes."

She nodded and put on the straightest face she could muster, closing her eyes. She could feel Dirk pressing on her eyelids with the eye shadow brush. Gently, the pressure from the brush faded around her eyes.

"Next, foundation."

Jade kept her eyes closed, fearful of the foundation burning her eyes if the blond were to miss. She inhaled deeply as the cold sensation of the liquid sat on her skin. The male used his fingers and palms to rub in the foundation in an even layer on every inch of her face. She had to admit, even though she didn't wear makeup very often, it felt a little nice.

After he had finished rubbing in the liquid, she felt a light dusting on her face. "It's just a light powder to give it a more even tone. Don't worry, I'm almost done."

"Mhmm."

This wasn't how she pictured getting ready for the big night to be like, but it worked nonetheless.

"Jade, open your eyes and look up. Eyeliner and mascara time!"

She did as she was told as the blonde took the eyeliner pencil and began to trace along her eye. Jade tried not to blink, afraid she might mess him up. As painful as the process was, she was glad Dirk was helping her. Jake would have had no idea what to do and a drunk Rose doing makeup was terrifying.

"Smile Jade, it's time to pick your outfit."

She nodded, still silent. Finally, after being Dirk's Barbie doll for the previous five minutes, she walked over to the mirror to see his handiwork. She looked . . . different. A good different but she didn't have much time to marvel on this matter. She had to change and possibly do her hair.

"Wear this dress. Oh, and put on those shoes next to the door."

_Well that was easy. Dirk made this look easy. I never really thought about what looks good with what. Throw on a nice shirt with a pair of black slacks and call it good. I'm so bad at this fashion thing._

She sighed, this was going to be a long night.

"Don't wrry, Jade! Evrythin'll be okay!"

"Rose, don't. I just want to go on my date."

Jade hastily grabbed the outfit Dirk selected and locked herself in the closet. "Okay, I've got this. Just change and get downstairs before Dave gets here. She flung her arms up in the air, tossing the shirt she was wearing on the floor and shimmied out of her sweatpants. The brunet threw on the dress Dirk selected. After a hurried rush to get dressed, she straightened and smoothed the light green dress to a presentable form.

"Dang."

After rushing to get ready on time, now she had the free moment to finally look herself over. The makeup set well on her face. The eye shadow he picked made her green eyes pop. The foundation smoothed her skin and even made it glow a little, covering her blemishes. Combined with the dress, she felt . . . pretty.

A loud knocking from outside startled her from her thoughts. That must be Dave. She heard a door open and close again. Feet shuffled and a few mumbled words followed shortly behind.

"Where's Jade?"

Yep, that was Dave.

"She locked herself in the closet." She heard the older Strider answer.

"Why?"

"She's changing." Jake replied annoyed. Why was he so mad all of a sudden?

"Okay?" A pause and then more shuffling. It was nerve racking. After the short shuffling, there was nothing, complete silence. Were they even out there anymore? She couldn't hear anything, not even the drunk giggles from the trio of girls.

Seconds ticked by and with each passing one, her heart beat felt faster. A knock on the closet door made her squeak, jolting her backwards.

"Jade? Are you in there?"

_Oh god, this is it. What if he doesn't like the way I look now? No, don't be stupid. Of course he does. Come on Harley! Get it together! _"Yes."

"So, can I take this lovely lady on a date?"

She gulped, shakily reaching for the doorknob, flicking the lock and pushing the door open only a hair. Another hand slipped through the ajar door, grabbing the wooden surface and pulling to open the door completely.

And there he stood, Dave Strider in a suit and tie holding out his free hand. He looked absolutely drop dead handsome. The blond had said this was no joke and she knew now that he meant it. She was in complete awe, not even sure how to speak properly.

"Wow, Dave, you look amazing."

A warm smile swept his face as she took his hand. Maybe this wasn't going to be that bad after all. Wait, where was she even going?

X

If there was ever a moment where Jade was terrified, it would be now. After Dave led her out of her dorm room and into his car, she wasn't even for sure where the blond was taking her. Dave had said something about eating beforehand so she knew it wasn't going out to dinner.

"Hey, you alright?"

_Crap. _"Yeah, I'm fine."

Without skipping a beat, the blond placed his hand on hers while using his other to drive the car. "Don't worry Harley, I promise you'll like it."

His thumb rubbed against the side of her hand, attempting to soothe her nerves. It worked, somewhat. Jade was still curious as to where they were going. The couple had almost reached the city limits when Dave turned the car into a small parking lot.

"Dave, where are we?"

"Trust me. Come on, let's go."

She sighed, he was difficult sometimes. As she exited his car, he locked the doors and placed the keys in his pocket. They were outside, where outside was the real question. This place looked familiar to her.

"Know where we are yet?"

"No, not yet."

"You will soon enough."

He stood just a couple feet in front of her, waiting for the brunette to loop her arm with his. She caught on and wiggled hers next to his. Her hand rested on the lower part of his arm. The two of them walked though this park as Jade tried to remember why she had been here before. Suddenly, Dave stopped.

"Is something wrong?"

The blond smiled. "Nope. We made it."

"Oh, okay. Made it where?"

He chuckled, clearly amused by how she hadn't figured out whatever she was supposed to figure out. "I'll give you one more guess. But after that, you have to be patient."

"I give up."

Dave dropped his arm and moved just a little farther ahead of her. He stood there, nonchalantly like he would in a crowded place. He dug through his pocket and pulled out a name tag. It read 'Dave Strider' in his choppy handwriting.

"This is where we first met."

And then it hit her. Freshman year during orientation, all the freshman kids went to this exact park to meet other freshman. She remembered now, seeing his slick blond hair and black sunglasses for the first time during one of the games they played.

"I don't even know what to say."

"That's alright." He stepped closer, extending his hand. "It's not over yet."

Jade had never felt this happy in her entire life. And there was more?

She grabbed his hand and let him lead her away. If they were just going to go to this park, why not just walk? But this was Dave, he never did things the easy way. The pair walked, not saying much. Either Dave was keeping up the suspense or he was as nervous as she was.

As they reached closer to campus, he stopped again. She looked around, trying to recall what happened here if that was the trend he was going to set. Nothing really came to mind, damn she was bad at this game. The brunette was standing in the place where the college held the outdoor graduation ceremony. It was a large grassy area that resembled a small amphitheater.

He turned to her, changing his stance. The blond placed one hand on her waist and the other still holding her hand.

"This is where we had our first dance."

As if on cue, music began to play. More memories came flooding back to her. The way he moved conveyed that he was nervous, but his face said otherwise. The two moved in rhythm, just as they did the night of the Homecoming dance two years ago. Come to think of it, even the song was the same. But that wasn't all that was the same. Dave wore that same suit for the dance that night and she was wearing what she wore. Dirk must have known what was going on because that was too much to be just a coincidence. It just made it that much more special. She felt like she was feeling that special spark all over again. That night she had started falling in love with Dave Strider.

The song ended and Jade felt like crying. She was so happy and if she knew Dave, this wasn't over yet. Sure enough, he grabbed her hand and led her away into campus. As they walked past the science and administration buildings, he made a turn left. The two of them walked down a hill that led to a dorm hall. The letters read on the front of the building 'Jefferson Hall'.

The blond once again stopped. He smiled, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"This is where I first started liking you and . . ."

Jefferson Hall is where Dave lived his freshman year before he moved off campus with his brother. She remembered him pausing like this. Because not only did she now know when Dave first fell in love with her, it was also where . . .

"Asked me out."

The blond nodded. "You're starting to catch on. There's only a couple of places left to go."

The two of them took off in a playful run back up the sidewalk, Dave leading the way. Her boyfriend led her through the heart of campus and to the far corner next to the business building. The blond opened the door to the dorm she lived in her freshman year, Drake Hall.

Dave and Jade walked into the lobby which was void of people. There must be a social on one of the upper floors since the building had eight of them. He led her into the middle of the lobby and pulled her in close.

"This is where we shared our first kiss."

The blond leaned in and placed his lips upon hers. Butterflies filled her stomach, so much that she felt like flying. She never wanted to leave this moment, just like the first time they kissed. But, just like it started, it ended just as fast.

"Well Jade, there's just one more place we have to go."

_Wait, what? But, that's it. At least I think so. If he's taking me through all the most important parts of our relationship, that would be the last stop. Unless there's one I'm forgetting . . ._

The brunette was quickly jolted from her thoughts when Dave started walking again. She quickly matched his steps as the pair exited the lobby. Still, she was curious. Where on earth could they be going now?

She let herself be led away into another unknown location. The couple walked back through campus, weaving in between the different academic buildings. They passed the education building and the psych complex. Dave continued walking, eventually passing by the library. This was about the center of campus. Almost everyone passed through here at least twice a day. And then, he stopped in front of the fountain.

"Dave, I don't remember this part."

"Do you know where we are?"

She was puzzled, what was he talking about? Of course she knew where they were. "Well, yeah. This is the center of campus."

She began looking around to see if maybe she was supposed to find something. Everything seemed to be ordinary. The outdoor library lights had turned on. The sidewalk lights were illuminating campus and the fountain was working.

"That's right. This is our last stop. And before I tell you what the last part is, I need to know something."

"Of course, what is it?"

"We've been dating for a little over a year now and I've enjoyed every waking moment of it." He inhaled deeply, as if he was preparing himself for something really big. "So Harley, have you enjoyed everything so far?"

She nodded, a wide smile appearing on her face. "Yes, this has been one of the best nights of my life. And from what you said, it's not over yet."

"That's right. This is the last stop."

She cocked her head, still confused a little. Jade began sifting rapidly through her memories, trying to find the significance of this place. As she thought, Dave chuckled. She paused, looking up at his face. His arms were slowly raising and his fingertips gently removed his sunglasses. He inhaled again, exhaling slower.

"This is a first."

"A…first?"

He placed the sunglasses on the edge of the fountain and reached into his suit jacket and produced a rose, extending the flower to her. She wrapped her fingers around the flower, clutching it close to her heart.

"Jade Harley, I love you."

Her heart had to have skipped at least seven beats. He had never said those three words together like that before. Dave Strider, the coolest kid on this campus, loves her. She looked into his deep red eyes, seeing the light reflecting off of them. A warm smile crossed his face.

She all but jumped into his arms, wrapping hers around his shoulders. He rested his head on her beautiful brunette hair, rubbing her back.

"I love you too."

They paused, frozen in the moment of each other's embrace. This is love and she was never going to let this go.

"Happy Valentine's Day Jade."

"Happy Valentine's Day."


End file.
